Purnululu, part two(lulu)

Shan
Palms beneath the red walls at Mini Palms Gorge.

The Bungle Bungles were much too interesting for a single post. This is the 'Andy looking at things' edition, with quite a few excellent things to look at.

Palms beneath the red walls at Mini Palms Gorge.
Palms beneath the red walls at Mini Palms Gorge.
A shaded passage among the palms.
A shaded passage among the palms.
Andy taking in the light and rock.
Andy taking in the light and rock.
A pause among the open country.
A pause among the open country.

What surprised Shan most was how different the two parts of Purnululu felt. In the north there were red cliffs, narrow canyons and palms growing in shaded spaces. In the south, the striped domes made the landscape instantly recognisable.

The striped domes of the Bungle Bungles.
The striped domes of the Bungle Bungles.
Walking below the domes.
Walking below the domes.
Following the dry creek bed.
Following the dry creek bed.
The thin bands around a sandstone dome.
The thin bands around a sandstone dome.

The stripes are more than decoration. Dark bands are formed by cyanobacteria on layers that retain moisture, while the orange layers dry more quickly and show the iron compounds in the sandstone. A thin surface gives these soft sandstone formations their very distinctive appearance.

A channel cut into the sandstone.
A channel cut into the sandstone.

We did nearly all the available walks, making the most of the cooler mornings and evenings. By the middle of the day, the rock was storing and radiating a considerable amount of heat.

Mini Palms Gorge was Shan's favourite. The walk involved climbing around and between large boulders before opening into a space of sandstone and palms. Andy particularly loved following the dry creek beds through the domes, seeing how water had shaped the rock and imagining the contrast when those channels are running.

Two very different landscapes in one park, and more than enough reason for a second gallery.